Remnants
by Ellourrah
Summary: A stolen moment of weakness in Serena's darkest hour. First season. Cannon


Remnants

It stung. The cut on her left shoulder was deep and painful. Already, the fuku shone dark in the moonlight. Cool, calming summer air brushed the hair from her face. The night reeked of engine oil and machinery. It made her sad, made her long for days when the night brought scents of wildflowers and hope.

She sat on the edge of the world. It was a tiny patch of grass at the top of a long cliff overlooking the industrial parks. Here was where she felt most out of place. Her world was marked only by life and warmth; but there was so much more to this place than just that. It seemed like everything she had ever cared about had died millennia ago on a far distant planet. It was alienating and cold to think of the difference between both places.

She brushed the loitering dirt from one thigh, knowing full well she should already be home dressing her wound. But right now, all she wanted was some space from everyone. She needed time to soak in her newfound knowledge, time to understand herself before everything else came crashing down around her.

It had been a week or more since the caverns with Zoicite. She had been trying in vain to hide away her royal heritage, but nothing could erase the terrible screams. Nothing could erase the sight of her senshi s twisted, dismembered bodies from her mind s eye. Nothing could surpass the blinding, wanton draw of his flame in battle.

Gods, he was beautiful. Endymion, Darien, or Tuxedo Mask -it didn t matter what face he wore. He was beautiful enough to throw everything away. Beautiful enough to allow the annihilation of her home planet and everything she loved. Beautiful enough to die for. Or so she had thought before.  
This life was nothing like the last. Here, he hated her. Here, he fought only to gain the silver crystal which now hung within the brooch at her chest. The thought ripped a dry laugh from her. Now, it seemed, his goals were as mysterious and frightening as the Dark Kingdom s. She was no longer sure if they really had taken him, or if maybe he just hadn t remembered the same time she did. Tuxedo Mask was always considered an enemy by the others; maybe she should consider him the same. He wasn t the sweet prince she remembered. Her shoulder throbbed as she shifted positions slightly. At least the pain proved the fact that he was still the warrior.

Oh, that he had just aimed a little lower. That his knife-tipped cane had penetrated rib and heart rather than just shoulder. It would have been so much easier. It would have hurt so much less.

The others kept telling her he was brainwashed; that the dark kingdom had twisted him to fulfill their plan of world domination. But Serena just couldn t help but think he did it because he wanted to. After all, his beloved, perfect princess had turned out to be just whiny little her. She had no idea what he would do when confronted with that. She had wanted to run the other direction. Why wouldn t he who seemed so much colder- want to just remove the eyesore?

It was that thought that lead to this decision. Darien had never liked her, he d never even spoken to her kindly. Not even once. Maybe the Dark Kingdom had him, and maybe they didn t. It didn t seem to matter much after that fact. It didn t seem to matter at all.  
You don t love me. You just want my crystal. So why am I fighting for something that s never going to happen? she whispered out loud, trying to put into words the feelings that had torn her apart for over a week now.

It was getting late. Her shoulder throbbed more thickly as time passed and none of this helped to stop the bleeding. It was hard to stay hopeful. It was hard to push herself up off the ground and begin the long trek home. It was hard to admit things would never be the same again.

But after all. Maybe it was better this way.

She left her blood there on the grass, and beside it the golden tiara. He could have them both if that was all he wanted.

Author's notes: Sorry I haven't been around guys. Life kinda gets in the way sometimes and it's been interesting. Hope you all are still doing fine and that you enjoy this little one shot. It's sad and lonely, much like I'm feeling right now. But it's still good. :) Love you all, hope to see you soon.


End file.
